OREANDA-NEWS. On 22 March 2016, Ms Valeria Gontareva met with members of the Supervisory Board of Bank Credit Dnepr PJSC at the National Bank of Ukraine. The well-known  economists and financiers, such as Mr Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a French economist and politician and ex-chief of the International Monetary Fund (2007?2011), Mr Anders ?slund, a Swedish economist and a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, Mr. Jean Pierre Saltiel, the former President of Rothschild Conseil International (1999 ? 2004), and Mr Alexandru Munteanu,   the founder and Senior Executive Partner at 4I Capital Partners, have been appointed as members to the Supervisory Board of Bank Credit Dnepr PJSC.

Ms Gontareva welcomed the international economists and financiers in their new roles. “I am pleased to see the high-profile international experts seated on the Supervisory Board of the Ukrainian bank. The appointment of such experts to the Supervisory Board of the Ukrainian bank marks a new era in corporate governance in the banking sector.

The meeting participants discussed the main challenges facing Ukraine’s banking system and outlined priorities and immediate tasks, as well as near-term development prospects of the financial sector.

The NBU Governor pointed out that the adoption of internationally acceptable corporate governance practices in Ukrainian banks is one of the essential and important elements of the financial sector reform.  “The development strategy for state-owned banks provides for the EBRD or the International Finance Corporation’s participation in the equity of state-owned banks.  This move marks an important step in helping these banks adopt international best corporate governance practices,” said the NBU Governor.  

The guests noted the progress made by the NBU in implementing financial sector reforms, pointing out that Ukrainian still face a lot of challenges and headwinds. 

“It is obvious that the NBU is one of the leaders in implementing reforms in Ukraine. The banking system is becoming more transparent and resilient thanks to the enhancement of banking supervision and oversight,” said Mr Dominique Strauss-Kahn. He also pointed out that there are still a lot of outstanding problems that need to be addressed: “Industries and SMEs have restricted access to financing; the domestic market is   highly exposed to external and domestic risks.  I think that despite all the headwinds it faces, Ukraine should make more effort to improve its economic welfare and promote development in all areas”.

Mr Anders ?slund, a Swedish economist and a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, also noted the progress made by the NBU in implementing financial sector reforms and pointed out that the NBU is moving in the right direction. He said that the reforms undertaken by the regulator are highly valued abroad and the NBU is viewed as a guarantor of reforms.

Ms Gontareva thanked all the international colleagues for high appreciation of the efforts made by the NBU and expressed hope that the appointment of independent directors to the Supervisory Boards will become a common practice for Ukrainian banks.